November 21, 2019

In late fall steelhead trout are the highlight in the Rocky and Chagrin rivers.  The Rocky and Chagrin rivers are low and clear with the best steelhead fishing being in the northern portion of the rivers closer to Lake Erie. There is rain in the forecast into the weekend so wise anglers will check the flow data before heading out.  To monitor the most recent river water level and temperature you can check the following link: <Rocky River flow gage data><Chagrin River flow gage data> <Rocky River NEORSD station with turbidity>.  Lake Erie nearshore anglers have been targeting steelhead and walleye.

Steelhead are biting from the rocks and breakwalls along the Cleveland shoreline at Edgewater Park, E55th breakwall, Gordon Park at E72nd, Wendy Park pier at the old Coast Guard station and Wildwood Park breakwall/pier.  Of these spots, Edgewater Park breakwalls by the boat launch, Wendy Park and E55th breakwall are most protected by the outer city breakwall during wavier conditions. Casting a spoon (such as a 2/5 oz Little Cleo or KO Wobbler) or spinner (ie Vibrax or RoosterTail) at these locations are a good for connecting with fall lakefront steelhead trout that requires no more than a medium action spinning rig spooled with 8-10 lb monofilament line.  A bobber with a 1/32 or 1/16 oz jig tipped with minnow or maggots suspend 3-6 feet below is also a good producer in the aforementioned areas.  A nightcrawler suspended under a bobber on a bare hook can also work well.  A longer noodle rod is best for fishing floats and a long handle net is required to land fish safely along the lakefront.

Local stream levels are low and clear at the moment, but rain is forecasted into the weekend.  With the low water, steelhead remain most concentrated in the deeper northern reaches of local streams awaiting higher flows before heading further upstream.  This scenario has allowed for very good opportunities at the Emerald Necklace Marina and river mouth area at Lake Erie (access to the latter requires a small watercraft).  Steelhead are hitting spoons and spinners, although small marabou jigs tipped with maggots drifted near the river bottom under a float accounted for more fish this week. 

Another river that shines during current conditions is the Cuyahoga River- which has a good flow even when other local streams are barely moving due to its large watershed size of 813 square miles.  This larger river is not stocked, but gets plenty of stray steelhead and has lots of public access.  Please share your Cuyahoga River catches and fishing stories to celebtrate 50 years since the infamous fires- the "burning river" has come a LONG way in the right direction.  An interactive map of access points for kayak/canoe launch/recovery can be found at this link: <Cuyahoga Water Trail Interactive Map> (just click on the pins and expand for location details).

In October the Ohio & Erie canal fishing area (off E49th Street) was stocked with 1,000 lbs of rainbow trout (including a few dozen golden rainbow trout) and 600 lbs of farm raised channel catfish.  See photo below of a few beautiful golden rainbow trout caught this week.  Additionally, Wallace Lake was stocked with largemouth bass and big bluegill and Beyer's Pond was stocked with bass, sunfish and channel catfish this fall, as well.

The walleye bite has been very good after dark along the Cleveland shoreline when lake conditions permit.  Anglers have been connecting by casting lures like Husky Jerk, Bandit, Rattle Trap, and Perfect 10 stickbaits at dusk and after dark along the Cleveland shoreline.  Wendy Park pier and E55th breakwall are more protected from wind than Edgewater and Wildwood park shorelines, but all produce plenty of walleye after dark in autumn. Anglers have a shot at yellow perch from the E55th breakwall using emerald shiners fished on crappie rigs on the bottom.  The ODNR Division of Wildlife weekly Lake Erie fishing report can be viewed <here>.

Emerald Necklace Shop Extended Hours for the Convenience of Fall Anglers and Boaters   UPDATE: Due to unforseen circumstances the Emerald Necklace Marina shop will close after November 27th (instead of December 19th). E55th Marina shop is closed for the season.

If you have a photo that you would like to contribute to the fishing report, or if you have any further questions regarding fishing in the Cleveland Metroparks, you may contact Aquatic Biologist Mike Durkalec at (440) 331-8017 or  md@clevelandmetroparks.com .

Tight Lines,

Mike

 

Congratulations to Cole on catching his first steelhead ever in the Rocky River by the marina (photo courtesy of Jimmy Miranda).



Mark from Independence struck gold at the Ohio & Erie canal on Saturday catching not one but two colorful golden rainbow trout!  He also caught a standard rainbow trout (photo courtesy of Mark Cwalina).



Max reports "Still not finding large numbers of fish but this Chagrin River buck took a 1/32 oz jig (white and pink with flash)" (photo courtesy of Max Madden).



Michael caught this very fresh hen steelie at the Emerald Necklace Marina on Tuesday using a black jig with pink head (photo courtesy of Bill Mantle).




Tim and a buddy did good walleye fishing out of E72nd on Monday with top fish measuring 28" and 8 pounds (photos courtesy of Tim Daley).



Congrats to Jason on catching this fresh from the lake 28" steelhead at the marina on Saturday- his personal best (photo courtesy of Jason Diedrick).






Ephraim and Sam had a great outing at the Rocky River marina area on Saturday, even landing an elusive fish pushing the magic 30" mark (photos courtesy of Ephrain Bowser).





Greg likes to slip down to the Rocky River after work for an hour here and there and is often rewarded for his efforts.  He drifts jigs tipped with maggots and Gulp minnows most of the time (photos courtesy of Greg Palka).





Dana and Mike fish in the Fall Brawl every year and put in a great effort off CLE on Sunday, as evidenced by the healthy walleyes above (photos courtesy of Dana Daugherty-Klonowski).



David caught this chunky hen steelhead fishing out of E55th on Sunday (photo courtesy of David Piro).










Brad and Aleinna had a stellar day fishing the mouth of the Rocky River near Lake Erie on Sunday, as evidence by the collection of photos above (photos courtesy of Brad Gardener).



This juvenile steelhead caught in the Cuyahoga River is most likely the product of natural reproduction.  The river has come a LONG way in the past 50 years! (photo courtesy of Greg Young).





This past Friday morning the morning steelhead bite was good at E55th breakwall.  Jigs tipped with maggots or a minnow or just a nightcrawler on a hook- dangled 3-5 feet below a bobber- were most effective.



Tom was targeting steelhead when he vcaught this little fellow.  Can you name the fish?
Answer: striped shiner (photo courtesy of Tom Nock).




Liz and I did an outing to target Atlantic salmon and caught a few beauties.  The bucks at spawning time (top pic) look a lot like their close relative- the brown trout.